Dec 05, Colombo: The Sri Lanka Wild Life Department says at least 13 elephants have died since January 2006 in railway accidents between the Minneriya and Galoya railway stations in the Polonnaruwa district of the North Central Province.

A she-elephant with a young cub collided with the night mail train from Colombo to Polonnaruwa yesterday. Both died on the spot, derailing the train and paralysing train services on the line for more than 24 hours.

The residents of the area and environmentalists say that both the Railway Department and the Wildlife Department do not pay attention to preventing elephants from dying in railway accidents in the dry zone area, where elephants roam freely. When asked, both authorities say they have no funds for that.

Sri Lanka's 2000-strong elephant population is rapidly dwindling due to human-elephant conflicts and manmade disasters. City Bank Card, Chase low rate loan, American Express